6 dead in Philadelphia building collapse, 13 injured

By Chris Boyette and Justin Lear, CNN

Updated 12:09 AM ET, Thu June 6, 2013

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse – Sean Benschop turned himself in to Philadelphia Police on Saturday, June 8. The 42-year-old crane operator was wanted on involuntary manslaughter and other charges tied to the deadly Philadelphia building collapse on June 5.

Hide Caption

1 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – Firefighters search through the rubble of a collapsed building in Philadelphia after an apparent demolition accident on Wednesday, June 5.

Hide Caption

2 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – Firefighters sort through the rubble on 22nd and Market Street in Philadelphia, on June 5.

Hide Caption

3 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – Firefighters carry a survivor from the rubble.

Hide Caption

4 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – Emergency personnel work to pull a survivor from the rubble.

Hide Caption

5 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – iReporter Boskie Shah, a student at Drexel University, was walking down 22nd street in Philadelphia when he saw the building collapse.

Hide Caption

6 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – The four-story building was in the process of being demolished when it apparently fell onto a Salvation Army store about 10:45 a.m Wednesday morning.

Hide Caption

7 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – Rescue workers comb through the debris as they search for survivors.

Hide Caption

8 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – Emergency personnel load an injured person into an ambulance.

Hide Caption

9 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – Firefighters search through the rubble looking for survivors.

Hide Caption

10 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – An injured woman is taken to an ambulance after the building collapse.

Hide Caption

11 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – iReporter Mike Adam shot this photo of the collapse from his apartment building across the street.

Hide Caption

12 of 13

Photos: Philadelphia building collapse 13 photos

Philadelphia building collapse – This image from Google Maps shows the building, seen on the left, before the collapse.

Hide Caption

13 of 13

Story highlights

A woman is pulled out alive

An active search and rescue operation continues on site

Of the 13 treated at hospitals after the incident, five are released

The building was being demolished when it collapsed, authorities say

A vacant building being demolished collapsed onto a thrift store in Philadelphia early Wednesday, killing six people and trapping more than a dozen under rubble, officials said.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said late Wednesday night the deceased were five women and a man, but did not release additional information.

Soon after he spoke, a 61-year-old woman buried under the debris was pulled out alive and taken to a local hospital, said Michael Reznik, the public safety director for the city said.

Search and rescue crews continued to search for victims into the night.

"We do not know how many people were actually in the store at that time and so active search and rescue continues," the mayor said.

Witness describes how building fell

Just Watched

Victims trapped in building collapse

"We're taking away the debris. We still have an area to be examined, and we are hopeful that we have actually gotten out everyone who was in the building, but at this moment, we do not know for sure."

Dogs have aided in the effort, which is expected to last at least into Thursday, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers told reporters.

He described the operation as tedious.

Of the 13 people injured and taken to area hospitals, five had been released as of Wednesday afternoon.

The building collapsed onto the Salvation Army Thrift Store next door with an ominous rumble, witnesses said.

"You felt it shake," Jordan McLaughlin told CNN affiliate KYW. "There was people that actually fell over. People started screaming, they ran across the street. There was people inside the building, you heard them scream."

He said he helped two people out of the building. Other bystanders, including construction workers, helped four or five others out in the moments after the collapse.

Patrick Glynn said he and others moved rocks and debris to get at people stuck in the rubble.

"I knew that was going to collapse some time soon, and it did today," he told CNN affiliate WPVI.

"For weeks they've been standing on the edge, knocking bricks off, pieces of, you could just see it was ready to go at any time. I knew it was going to happen. I seen it. I said it 10 times. Ask these guys. Every day, I said, 'It's gonna collapse, it's gonna collapse.'"

Another witness, Ari Barker, said he was in his office across the street when he heard "a rumbling, a very unusual sound." He rushed to the window to see a plume of dust rising from the debris.

Kate Slyman said she felt the ground rumbling as the building collapsed.

"The first thing that came to my mind was a terrorist attack," she said.

Police described the collapse as an "industrial accident." The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been told it was an accident at a demolition site, and it has investigators on the way, spokeswoman Leni Fortson said.

There were no known violations at the site.

"No violations, no complaints that we're aware of, and all permits were valid," Nutter said.

The Salvation Army issued a statement saying it had sent a disaster response team to the site and asking that the public pray for its employees, customers and others involved in the collapse.

The collapse occurred in a heavily traveled area of the Philadelphia's Center City neighborhood. The nearby Mutter Museum is a popular tourist destination that houses medical oddities.

The museum said on Facebook that it would be closed until further notice. While its building was undamaged, the museum said police were using its facilities as a staging area for the rescue operation.